photo credits @ WTFK
Returning for the 19th edition of the Life Time UNBOUND Gravel presented by Shimano, the Flint Hills saw record-breaking results across the board today.
Karolina Migoń clocked an unprecedented average speed of 20.12mph to take first place in the elite women’s 200-mile race, while Cameron Jones earned himself a spot in the Life Time Grand Prix by also winning the men’s 200 race and setting a course record speed of 23.49mph in the process.
Migoń had forged clear early on alongside Cecily Decker and Lauren Stephens. The trio had built a sizable lead when Migoń distanced her rivals with 48 miles to go. The 29-year-old Pole continued to ride hard all the way back to Emporia, taking her victory in a time of 10hr 3min 54sec.
Behind, Decker refused to throw in the towel and dug deep to take second place, 8min 35sec back on Migoń but 9min 55sec ahead of Sofía Gómez Villafañe, who outsprinted 2024 winner Rosa Klöser and Cecile Lejeune to wrap up third position.
The men’s race proved equally dramatic with Jones – a Wild Card competitor – producing a stunning performance after breaking away with Simon Pellaud, two and a half hours into the action. That duo worked together brilliantly to build up an unassailable lead as they powered through the unrelenting gravel.
Sensing Pellaud was tiring in the closing stages, Jones made his decisive move on one of final climbs of the day, dropping his accomplice before pressing home his advantage, ultimately crossing the finish line 42 seconds ahead of the Swiss rider in a time of 8hr 37min 09sec.
Those results mean Decker has moved level on points with Villafañe at the top of the women’s overall standings, while Pellaud now sits joint second in the men’s competition with Brendan Johnston (who took fifth place on the day, and third place among the Life Time Grand Prix athletes). Keegan Swenson defended his overall lead courtesy of being the fourth Life Time Grand Prix rider home in seventh position.
The official lineup of Wild Card riders who have earned their place on the Life Time Grand Prix will be announced on Sunday, June 1. Those seven Wild Card riders will be included on the overall leaderboard for the first time after the Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB presented by Kenetik has concluded on Saturday, August 9.
Click HERE (men) and HERE (women) for the full race results, and you will also be able to download photos and video as soon as they’re available HERE (please credit to Life Time).
Extended highlights will be available soon on the official Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel.
Earlier in the day, Rob Britton and Heather Jackson had both also smashed records in the XL race. Britton crossed the line in an incredible time of 17hr 49min 51sec which was 2hr 15min 45sec faster than Sebastian Breuer’s previous best in 2024, but just 5min 44min ahead of 2025 runner-up Lachlan Morton. Jackson’s time of 20hr 57min 57sec proved 1hr 27min 18sec quicker than the marker set by Cynthia Frazier in 2022, with Serena Gordon taking second place in a time of 22hr 19min 56sec. Click HERE for full results from that race.
Women’s 200 winner Karolina Migoń said: “We had a really good group of three and were working really hard together until the second feed zone. When Lauren dropped back I waited for Cecily, but when I saw she was also super-tired, I went on my own and gave everything I had to make it to the finish line. I didn’t know if that was a good idea or not at first, but it turned out well.
“This was a field of very strong women and really hard to win, so I didn’t have any expectations going into it, but thankfully I was the strongest.”
Men’s 200 winner Cameron Jones said: “I was supposed to play it safe with the chance of getting in the Life Time Grand Prix through the Wild Card competition at stake, but once the race had started, I thought ‘who am I kidding, I’m just going to send it’. I went a bit earlier than I’d planned – it was all strung out coming into Eskridge so I joined the fun and everyone else stopped, so I just kept on going and committed.
“I bridged across to the lead group and went through that, and then got a gap with Simon. I was unsure when we went away but he assured me it was a good thing to do, and our gap gradually grew. That was a pretty cool feeling; we kept the morale high and helped each other out, doing even pulls. We both knew we’d stay clear until the end and coming into the finish, I was keen to leave it to a sprint. I rode hard and managed to break the elastic on the final hill coming up to the finish though, and that meant I could savour the roll into town.
“I’ve got my family here so it’s incredibly special that they’ve seen me win their first race in the USA. Now I’m in the Life Time Grand Prix, I’d better get myself to altitude and get ready for Leadville.Women’s 200 runner-up Cecily Decker said: “I was so wrecked as I messed up at the first feed zone and was completely dehydrated, so it was super-awesome to take second place behind Karolina. She was clearly a lot stronger today. My motivation was just to get to the finish as fast as I could and be done with it, and I’m stoked with the result.”
Men’s 200 runner-up Simon Pellaud said: “It was interesting to find myself out in front and going for the win so early in the race, especially with such a strong wind and powerful field behind. Thankfully there wasn’t much collaboration in the chase. I always like to race from the front and make a show of it for the fans, and I had a lot of fun. I know Cameron a little bit and I enjoyed riding with him. We were fully committed and that’s how a breakaway should always be.
“Unfortunately I ran out of sugar in the final as I lost some gels, and that bad luck meant I lost the biggest gravel race in the world, and it could have changed my career. I’m upset because I really felt I could win, but it is what it is. In time I will be happy with this result, and if you’d told me before the race I’d finish in second, I would have taken that.”
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